Here’s a scene you don’t see very often: a line of an inner city public school students standing outside of a classroom eagerly waiting for their teacher to let them in and begin class.

It’s no secret that there are students that have no interest in taking a music class or learning how to play an instrument. However, after introducing Little Kids Rock’s methods, curriculum and instruments to his music program, Chris Alberts has been able to reach more kids than ever before, and much more quickly. Now, students who would not have normally joined the music program are choosing to participate. Kids wanting to be a part of an elective class is a rarity these days… a true testament to Chris’s teaching style.

This summer, the Senate debated rewriting the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (also known as The Every ChildAchieves Act S.1177) and on July 15, 2015, they voted to pass and reauthorize this bill at an overwhelming majority of 86-12 with some new and exciting changes to the music education world.

But just how much or little of an impact will this have on music education? Bob Morrison, CEO of Quadrant Research, illuminated exactly how the bill would and would not impact music education...

While sitting in the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City for Little Kids Rock’s annual Big Kids Rock battle of the bands fundraiser about to judge a musical performance featuring Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal and his double neck guitar, 18 year-old Max Sperber reflected on his days in middle school when this scenario was little more than a dream.

Max described himself in three ways when he was in middle school: A musician, music lover, and an outsider. The lack of an official music program at his school left Max without a vehicle to connect with other students.